Spy agencies come up empty on terror motive

Mark Hosenball on Newsweek's Delassified blog reports that "both law enforcement and intelligence agencies are urgently investigating" the background of Elias Abuelazam but that "U.S. officials can find not the slightest trace of evidence or intelligence linking the man to terrorism":

Law-enforcement and intelligence officials contacted by Declassified said that whoever the suspect turns out to be, they don't believe that any connection will be found to terrorism, and that the bizarre nature of the alleged crimes bear no resemblance to the objectives or practices of any known terrorist group. Officials say their working theory is that the crimes were the product of some kind of serious mental illness. They also say that it is simply a sign of the times that when someone with what sounds like a Muslim name is implicated in a serious crime, government agencies find themselves obliged to at least look for any indications of a possible connection to terrorism.